It is generally known in the art of single or double depth serpentine track dispensing mechanisms for cylindrical articles that storage capacity is increased by utilizing the serpentine type track without increasing the outer configuration of the article storage area. As shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,498,497 and 3,613,945, each serpentine track has a meandering shape from top to bottom which causes cylindrical articles to roll down from the upper end thereof to a discharge opening at the lower end thereof in response to gravity. Delivery of these cylindrical articles from the discharge opening is controlled by a discharge control device disposed at the discharge opening.
In serpentine track dispensing mechanisms of the above type, if glass bottles are loaded into the storage area, these glass bottles may break with resultant injury or damage to the user and/or the vending machine itself. Glass bottles may break during loading into the storage area or during the dispensing/discharging operation when these bottles strike against parts of the dispensing mechanism or come in contact with the discharge control device.